He was nothing more than a boy, really. A rather short boy, with long red locks tied up in a high ponytail and delicate features. In fact, Honda Takeo would have taken him for a girl if it weren't for the boy's eyes. Glowing amber eyes that were so fierce, so deadly, that you knew that he was dangerous.

"So, you're looking to join our gang?" Takeo asked, trying to keep his fear hidden behind a mask of arrogance. It wouldn't do for the newcomer to think he was scared of him. The boy would have to learn to respect his elders if he wanted to join the gang, learn to respect those higher than himself in the deadly game of drugs, lies, and deceit.

"Yes." The boy's voice was soft and low, silky and smooth. For some reason, it just made Takeo shiver all the more.

"What's you reason? After all, you can't be older than fifth teen. Most kids your age want to be under the government's protection, going to school. Not here downtown in the lower part of the city." It was a required question for all new recruits who could still be in school, but this time Takeo found himself actually curious. What would a boy like the one sitting in front of him want with drug rings and gangs?

"… My father's dead from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. My mother died giving birth to me. My uncle is an alcoholic. Frankly, if those are the kind of fates that people have living in accordance to the government, I see no reason to follow it." The redhead said softly, pausing to choose his words.

"You got a point there, kid." Takeo muttered, leaning back into the chair.

They were in a small room, dusty and dank smelling from little use. The only time the doors ever opened to this room was when someone new wanted to join, which though it happened often, the interviews never lasted long.

"You do realize, though, that life wont be much better than up in the cleaner areas? At least there, you've got something that resembles order. People are trying to hide who they are all the time up there."

"Which is exactly why I want to be down here. I'm sick of all the masks. People should just… come out with it. We are all dark, and there is no such thing as innocence."

Takeo shuddered at the words. This kid was dangerous. All his instincts were screaming PREDATOR, ATTACKER, RUN.

"Well kid, I'd say you're accepted." As intrigued by the kid as he was, he still couldn't shake that he was making a mistake. Most kids who came in here were lost and confused, wanting an easy way out and falling easily into the violence that made Takeo's world. This kid… he wasn't lost. He knew exactly who he was looking for and how to get it. The only thing Takeo was wondering was why he would want to join a gang.

"One more thing, what's your name?"

"Himura. Himura… Shinta."

Shigeru Jin always thought of himself as a very reasonable kind of man.

He got his wife a birthday present, always kissed his children on the cheek and bought them what they wanted for Christmas. He was always on time for work, and always nodded at all his co-workers. He made sure to have everything on time, and that everything was top notch.

For some reason though, seeing the top uncover agent in the government running away from an enraged slip of a girl struck him as odd, strange, and only one thought that was very un-reasonable ran through his head at that moment.

"…And this is the hope for Japan?"

Indeed, Himura Kenshin, also known as Battousai, was desperately jumping over couches, tables, and the occasional person while still managing to say "Oro! Very sorry!" or, "Excuse me! Coming through!"

Red hair flying behind him, he swerved around one co-worker, who startled by the sudden appearance of the small red-haired demon (For to Jin, he certainly looked like a demon right then) let go of his coffee. Turning his head around, he yelped "Sorry about the coffee!" but before the man could reply, Himura was gone.

"Himura! Get your ass back here! I am so going to kill you!" And in a black bur, Makimachi Misao streaked past the startled co-worker, who was still looking in bemusement from the floor where his coffee lay, to the corridor Himura had disappeared down.

Jin let out another sigh. Just another day at the office.

Makimachi Misao was mad.

Today had started out as a good day. She had gotten up, had a bowl of cheerios, and then rushed off to the office before school started for an update on her current case. She had made fun of Sano trying to flirt with Megumi, managed to dodge the flying first-aid kit from the fox herself, and then had gotten ready to prepare for her meeting with Saitoh with a cup of well-deserved coffee from the local coffee shop.

And then… the evil of all evil things had happened.

"Hello Misao." A chipper voice had chimed behind her.

"Gah!" And with that, Misao dropped her coffee. Her well earned, paid for coffee.

Without turning, without even looking up from the spreading coffee stain in the carpet, she had calmly said. "Run Himura. Run for your life."

"….I'll do that."

And so stared a normal day at the office, complete with finding herself being picked up in mid stride to stare into the angry eyes of her boss.

Now Misao found herself trying not to fidget while smoke rings were blown into her face.

"That's the third time you've insisted on chasing Battousai around the office this week, Makimachi. It's getting rather tiring."

"Well, it's also the third time this week he's come up behind me and made me spill me coffee." Misao couldn't help snapping back.

"True." Saitoh admitted. "But everyone in the office took a poll and the outcome was in favor of you never having another cup of coffee again. It's the only thing me and the Battousai agree on."

"Kenshin's been making me drop my coffee on purpose?" Misao yelped.

"Mm. Another poll we took showed that most office members though Battousai would be best for the job of making sure you didn't drink anymore caffeine."

Misao groaned, letting her head fall onto the desk with an audible thump. "Don't any of you realize that I'm going into withdrawal without my coffee?"

"Of course." Saitoh took another drag of his cigarette. "It's just that none of us care." He peered down at her, a sneer on his face. Idly picking up a folder, he tossed it towards her, "Here's your next case. It's another drug ring. Find the boss and where he keeps his money and drugs, and call up Battousai to help you out once you've identified him."

"Duh." Misao grunted, lifting her head up to catch the folder before briefly skimming its contents.

"Oh, and one more thing." Saitoh said, peering down at her with amusement.

"What?" Misao snapped, still skimming through the report. Because of this, she missed Saitoh's amused expressions. If she had seen it, she would of most likely been more on guard. If the wolf was amused, it generally meant someone else was going to suffer.

"You have school starting in ten minutes. I would hate," this was said sarcastically, "for you to be late."

"What?" Misao repeated, jumping up from the chair. With a look at her watch, and a scream, she barreled out of the door past a ruffled Megumi.

"I'm gonna be late!" The shriek echoed through the hallways of the office.

Saitoh smirked, leaning back into his chair. "Just another day at the office." He murmured.

"You shouldn't bait her so much." Megumi said, raising one eyebrow.

"Who asked you, fox?"

"No one." Megumi shrugged. "But you know, you were a teenager once, too."

"God forbid." Saitoh muttered.

"You know," Sagara Sanosuke dryly commented, "If you stare at the Kamiya girl any longer you're going to burn holes through her head."

"Huh?" Himura Kenshin said, glancing up sheepishly from where he had been looking at the lunch table next to his, which was filled with giggling cheerleaders and boastful jocks.

From next to him, Misao took another bite of her sandwich and giggled. "You have got it so bad Himura. It's amazing, really. You're this legendary figure in the government, the top undercover agent in centuries, you've taken down countless gangs and drug rings, yet you don't even have the courage to speak to one girl."

Kenshin shifted. "It's not that bad… is it?"

His two friends nodded. Kenshin sighed.

It was a well-known fact among the group of three that Himura Kenshin was madly, passionately, and absolutely in love with Kamiya Kaoru. Sadly, there were a couple of barriers standing in his way.

1. Kenshin worked for the government as an undercover agent. It was a relatively new idea, using teenagers instead of adults, and so far there were only about five teens working with the program. The idea worked well, seeing as the teens could get into situations without raising suspicion that older adults would. Sadly, this put a rather large dent on Kenshin's social life. Even if for some odd chance he did get together with Kaoru, he wouldn't have had much time to spare for her.

2. Kaoru already had a boyfriend. Yukishiro Enishi to be exact.

3. Kaoru was at the top of the top of the social ladder. She was a cheerleader, made good enough grades, and was nice to generally everybody. Kenshin hovered somewhere at the very bottom of said social ladder.

4. Kenshin was to shy to even talk to her, let alone ask her out.

All in all, those four barriers managed to keep Kenshin firmly away from Kaoru. Kenshin wouldn't have even been surprised if she didn't even know who he was.

"So, weasel, I hear you have a new mission." Sano said, deciding to take pity on the blushing redheaded boy. Misao looked up, and then around, making sure nobody was watching or listening to the group.

"Yeah, some drug ring that's becoming too strong. You're already posted there, aren't you Himura?"

Kenshin nodded. "They're generally all idiots, but there are the one or two members who are to smart for their own good. You shouldn't have any problem getting in, Misao. They accept anybody really if you look like you can fit with the job." Kenshin assured her.

"Damn." Sano grumbled. "I haven't been able to do any field work for weeks!"

"Well, if you hadn't busted your hand again you could." Misao pointed out.

"Shut up." Sano growled out. "Don't you think I get that enough from the kitsune?"

"Don't know why you would want to do field work." Kenshin muttered, digging through his paper sack that contained his lunch. "It's so dirty. I swear, some of those guys must of not taken a bath since they joined."

Sano snickered. "Ah, is the ickle Battousai afraid of a bit of dust?"

Kenshin made a face at him as he popped a pill into his mouth, while Misao giggled. Swallowing the pill down quickly with a gulp of water, Kenshin made another face but this time at the taste of the pill which he had unfortunately tasted before he could swallow it.

"Gah, those things taste awful, which, by the way Sano, is another good reason not to have to do field work."

"Ah, the pill of all diseases. Megumi's greatest creation. What kind is it this time?" Misao asked.

"Just a simple cold, but strong enough to have me miss school for two days. It should start taking effect by the time class starts again, and it'll end by tonight." Kenshin admitted. "Two days is just enough time for us to shut down that gang."

Sano leaned back. "I don't see why you hate those thing so much. I would take one right now just to get out of school."

"Oh, we know you would Sano. Which is why Megumi doesn't give them to you unless you absolutely need them." Misao grinned. She herself had her own bag of pills to get out of class for work assignments. Usually though, she didn't have to resort to such drastic measures like Kenshin did. She could just say she was leaving to help her grandfather run his business. Considering that her grandfather worked directly with the government, he willingly talked to the school about getting her out of class. It was easy to say that she was helping with his restaurant and learning the family business.

Sano himself usually just played hooky. He was known around the school for being a bit of a gangster, and it was seen as quite a normal thing for him to miss days of school for no reason. No one asked, and in all truthfulness, no one really cared.

The band of three were known around the school for having a bit of a reputation of being odd. Indeed, most of the teenagers who put the time into it couldn't figure out why any such three would be friends. They were all practically polar opposites of each other.

Happy, bright, cheerful Misao who could never see a bad thing in any situation. Dark, brooding Sano who was known to get into fights for fun. Kenshin, who though seen as one of the brighter kids in the school curricular system, was constantly sick and as clueless as an apple.

In fact, none of them would have even considered talking to each other if it wasn't for one very important fact: All three were constantly working together.

To outsiders, the school looked like your average high school. Actually, it was your average high school, but that's beside the point. It was just a handful of the kids that went there that were not so average.

Each of the kids in the government program had joined for their own reasons. Most of them were quite private reasons, and one of the top rules in that section of the government was: Don't ask questions about people's past.

UCDA, or Undercover Children's Detective Agency (some high office member had came up with the stupid name) was a small section of the government that most people had no idea existed, including some government officials themselves. For success, the members had to be kept secret, hidden, and had to be seen to most people as leading regular, everyday lives.

It couldn't be farther from the truth.

Every single person part of UCDA had another life, or another personality so to speak. It was one of the requirements of joining. So, for the children who made the program itself come alive were all required to regularly be in school. The team that worked behind the kids, the doctors, technicians, spies, were all required to have average everyday jobs.

And though most of the world didn't know that they existed, they had managed to bring down more shady dealings than the rest of the government combined.

Misao, Sano, and Kenshin had all been asked to attend the same high school, and each had experienced the same problem.

They were just to different than the other kids. The other kids who never had a problem in there life but what they had to wear to school the next day, how much homework they had, and who broke up with who. So the three had banned together, and a very strong, if not odd, friendship had formed.

"Man, I'm beat." Sano muttered, leaning back in his chair. "And I'm so sick of school."

"Bell rings soon, too." Misao grumbled.

All three sighed. "And I'm going to miss my quiz because I'm 'sick.'" Kenshin moaned.

Sano and Misao just shared a look.

It was at this time that the bell signaling for all students to go back to class rang. Complaining, all three made their ways to separate classes. Kenshin gave a wave, and Sano yelled a "Good Luck!" from the other end of the hallway.

Kenshin dashed through the hallways, holding a pack of tissues in one hand and his books in the other. No matter what he did, he just kept sneezing. Man, he hated colds.

He had been released from class when the teacher had realized that her student had all the symptoms of a cold including a fever. Now, he was running down the hallways so he could get what he needed from his locker and leave. One of the members from the office was waiting outside to give a ride downtown so he could take up his position in the gang.

Muttering to himself, he skidded around the corner and straight into another student.

Yelping as his books went everywhere, Kenshin scrambled to pick them up, until a dainty hand offered him one that had gone skidding further than the others.

Looking up, he met the calm eyes of Tomoe.

Kenshin couldn't stop the blush from spreading over his face. Quickly taking the book from her, he muttered "Sorry" right before a fit of coughing and sneezing overcame him again.

When he regained his senses, Tomoe was holding his hand and gently patting him on his back. He looked up her, and she gave him a small smile.

"I guess you're going on another mission then?"

For a moment, he just blinked at her before nodding. "Um, yeah. It's just some gang, though. So, nothing big. You know, just the usual thugs who are, well, who think they can do whatever they want to--"

Before he knew what was happening, Tomoe had changed her gentle embrace to a hug, cutting off his rambling. She buried her face is his shirt, arms slipping around his surprised form. For a few seconds, Kenshin just stood there before gently wrapping his arms around the girl. He leaned down, burying his face into her hair.

"White plums." He whispered softly.

Tomoe pulled back to look up at him for a moment, before gently tucking a strand of hair that had escaped his low ponytail behind his ear.

"Be careful, Kenshin." And with that, she gently stepped out of his embrace.

Picking up his books that he hat set on the floor when he started coughing, Kenshin nodded. "I always am."

Starting down the hall, he paused before turning the corner to look back at her. She hadn't moved. "You know, I really am sorry. About everything. You… understand, right?"

For a moment, Tomoe just looked at him. For his life, Kenshin couldn't figure out what was going through her mind.

"Of course I understand Kenshin. We just weren't meant to be. But that doesn't stop me from caring about you." Tomoe whispered softly, her voice nevertheless caring in the empty hallway.

Kenshin gave her one last long look, and gave her a small, sad smile. "And I'll always care for you, too. Just not in the way before. Thank you for understanding. I never deserved you, as a friend… or as something more. Be happy with Akira."

And with that, he turned and walked down the rest of the hallway.

A/N: Yup. So, new idea. This will defiantly be a multiple chapters' piece. Tell me what you think of it And um, don't really expect to many updates…. Yeah, I hate school. Gah. But I will get it done! So never fear! Leave a review and make me smile!